


Leap of Faith

by Rroselavy



Category: Saiyuki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-01
Updated: 2010-07-01
Packaged: 2017-10-10 08:33:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/97724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rroselavy/pseuds/Rroselavy





	Leap of Faith

Despite the mind-numbing pain, despite the fact that he was curled on the ground in a near-fetal position -- or maybe _in_ spite of it -- Sanzo had to laugh at the irony of it all. The gods -- bastards that they were -- it seemed, were not as humorless as he'd once believed.

That he'd underestimated the heretic sanzo was an understatement to put it mildly, but even after his humiliating defeat in which Gat had literally given both his arms Sanzo couldn't repress the grim smile that quirked the corners of his mouth. It wasn't as if Ukoku had told him anything remotely enlightening. He didn't give a rat's ass about his humble beginnings (though he would kill to find out where the other had gleaned his information); not even the tantalizing hint that his biological parents were alive was of remote interest to Sanzo. His _true_ father hadn't abandoned him to the fate of a river's capricious current, _he'd_ given his life in exchange for the newly anointed Genjo Sanzo's, as Ukoku Sanzo had gleefully pointed out.

While that divulgence was meant to bring the younger sanzo to his knees (and it had), he was also able to draw immeasurable strength from the confirmation of his deepest fear. In Koumyou's last selfless act, the older monk had thrown aside the tenets that he'd lived by and taught to his protégé, forsaking them like the utter nonsense they were. Sanzo let out a small bark of laughter in the dead silence.

Hadn't he chased after Bishop Grouse for the same reason? The sight of Goku's lifeless body had propelled him into action; his bloodthirst demanding to be quenched by the life force of the one who dared to take the boy away from him. It was that need for revenge that had been his undoing, he realized belatedly. Perhaps _this_ was the lesson that Koumyou had meant to teach him that fateful night.

All these things came to Sanzo as he lay helpless at Ukoku's feet. He drew out the memory of the Master of nothing from his distant past -- the cheeky bastard had always had a hard-on for him -- and though he couldn't quite understand it yet, Sanzo knew without any doubt that he would leave no stone unturned in unraveling this latest thread that tied him to his past.

"Do you want to see what true darkness is?" Ukoku asked in his insanely calm voice.

Sanzo looked up to see his nemesis's head haloed by the black void created by the Muten sutra and began to laugh uncontrollably.


End file.
